This is conceptually retarded. It started off pretty well, but then the actual story started after the timeskip and suddenly terrible shoujo harem everywhere. I don't find the characters to be 'pitifully flawed' - if they were it might be good. I liked After School Nightmare mostly because of the deeply flawed characters and their inability to deal with themselves or each other - but they had to develop personalities for that, and they were mostly unlikeable personalities, but ones that felt real.

This feels more like a self-indulgent fantasy. Sure, it's somewhat twisted self-indulgent fantasy in parts, but the whole thing feels like an excuse to get the girl in a harem where she can fall in love. The main character strikes me less as 'flawed' and more as 'vacant' - or like a puppet that the author jerks around and manipulates without caring much for the justification of why she acts like she does.

Also, this series is actually set primarily in the modern era - don't let the description and first volume fool you.

Well...It is very intense and interesting to see some of the common sense thing to do if you see a monster from the "Angel" girl point of view in Ch.1.The tone is really depresses. The author is trying to portraits what she thinks about what might by the purest things of all. It's not bad but it's very creep. I kinda dont like the way she put her vampires to characters, though i can see her trying to make an image of horror of the vampires.
So overall, I like to read more of this but at the same time I dont because it seem i can predict what might happen next after v2.c6 and it's not something pleasant that i would want to mess my mind with

... Last updated on April 22nd, 2010, 7:47pm

I fell in love with this mangaka after reading her other work, "AFTER SCHOOL NIGHTMARE".

I am up to vol2 chapter 6 by the way.
The story is really complex and makes you want to know what is going to happen next.
Similar to ASN, it is a psychological manga and has very complex and well developed characters.
I have to disagree with shellie95121 about the art; I think it is one of the best out there. I love the detail and how the expressions are portrayed. i also think the characters are well proportioned and beautiful.

I highly recommend to all readers, unless you have an aversion to vampires...obviously.

Having just read the most scanlation (v.2 c.6) I have to say it is pretty interesting so far. The first volume is more of a prologue to the actual story it seems as the settings/situation shifts in the second volume. Most of the comments from people that dislike the plot haven't read past this shift. If you have time I believe you should read up until the point I did in order to get a better grasp of the situation.

I'm looking forward to further development of the story. It has peaked my interest especially on the unique take on what a "vampire" actually is.

yes, the character designs are a lot like interview with the vampire.
some things didnt add up, like the suicides, its like they are being possessed or something, i know i would definitly never kill myself for another person, and also that part doesnt make much sense(but that may be the translation mistakes).
anyway i dont understand why
the art is okay, i didnt find any of the characters very likable, but this is good for reading on a slow day.
6/10 for nothing special.

the scenery stuff is pretty good but the art for the characters are pretty worst then usual....ANYYYwhooo.... i really like the plot soo far and its pretty unique but some how i cant get ride of the feeling that the book was inspired by "interview with a vampire"

Whoever said this is cliche shoujo... umm hello? How is this like cliche shoujo? I have been reading mangas all my life and I don't think people dying en masse is a plot device common in shoujo at all. Emma is definitely a happy, positive atypical shoujo that your mother would approve you reading all right and you should if typical shoujo is what you are looking for. Mizushiro sensei does not do typical happy cliche shoujo. Her stories almost always are sad and depressive. Read Dousei Ai if you really want to get a feel for her stories.

In response to the reviewer below, Kurobara Alice has almost nothing in common with Emma, which is an improper comparison. Don't read this manga expecting a tender, romantic, historical shoujo. But do read it if you're sinfully attracted to horror, creepiness, and pitifully flawed characters. Shoujo cliche, this is not. Most of the characters in the first chapter have died by the second chapter. Remember, we haven't even yet met "Alice," the title character of the manga. On my part, I'm looking forward to more.

... Last updated on April 18th, 2009, 12:19am

It looks pretty forgettable so far. The art is worse that I expected from Setona-sensei, but then again I haven't read that much of her stuff. Anatomy is awkward, the quality is slightly poor (which also may be due to not so great raws, which is forgivable but still...). The plot is cliched--poor, talented singer falls in love with an "angelic" girl of the aristocracy and yearns for her like crazy. Throw vampires into the mix and you have a weird historical fantasy romance that intrigues slightly but doesn't satisfy. For example: I was really disillusioned and put off by the utter fakeness of the conversation between Dimitri and his patron. The mangaka is telling us everything she thinks we need to understand the "current situation," but it comes off as stiff and an amateurish maneuver.

If you're looking for a *good* historical shoujo manga, (re)read Emma. If you're looking for historical shoujo and don't care about the quality or the originality, read this.

Maybe it will get better later--some mangas gain momentum and turn out not too bad like that, after all... but I don't know if I have enough interest to follow this particular one and see if that happens. >__>

Edit: I should clarify a few things... I point out Emma as an example of a good historical manga--I'm not actually comparing the two (as you can tell from my review). But I call Emma good because beyond a solid plot, she has an amazing grasp of characters and a talent for the very medium of the graphic novel. Simply put, it's poignant and it makes me sad and happy every time I reread it.

Here, the manga-ka rushes through an introduction and quickly launches into the mechanics of the vampire world... I'm sure it's all very interesting, but why should I care? I'd rather have action with explanation as we go along, to keep me guessing. As for the mass suicide of Dimitri's fellow actors, it struck me as over the top and unconvincing.

The third chapter didn't seem half-bad (a couple of intriguing things happened but I won't mention them here due to spoilers). But this manga so far hasn't fully convinced me that it has the power to go beyond its genre. Entertaining, maybe, but I'm not emotionally invested.

o___o I'm going to stop here before I expend any more energy on this... XD;;;;

... Last updated on June 3rd, 2009, 7:47pm

read the first chapter, didn't like it but i want to read more.

the girl reminds me a hell of a lot of the one from Antique Romance, the age, the look, being "stained", her character. the male lead, the fiancé, the duchess arent likeable imo

still, gonna wait a few chapters before i rate